Life Goes On
by Roshan Channah
Summary: During the war few people had the luxury of thinking of life after it was over. But now thanks to the Avatar, Fire Lord Zuko and the other war heroes efforts peace is here to stay. It has now been decades since the war. A new generation now grows up without the fears that their elders lived with. For time doesn't stop for anyone and life always goes on.
1. Lu Kai

Lu Kai

Lu Kai could feel the Sun beat down upon him relentlessly. As a firebender usually he would welcome the feel of the Sun on skin, the strengthening of his inner flame but three hours especially during mid day was too much. He was sweltering in the formal robes that designated his royal position. Thankfully his hair was up off his neck. He was going to kill Maiko when he got back. Too busy yeah right, she probably had a secret meeting with Ren. He thought longingly of how cool he could be right then in the Palace. He could be drinking some fresh melon juice right about then instead of sweltering on the docks for the new ambassador of The Northern Water Tribe.

Then he saw the purple sails appearing upon the horizon. He sighed with relief but stopped himself from muttering "Finally." The guards were close enough to hear anything he said and he couldn't seem anything less than welcoming. The ship approached far faster than would be expected. They probably had a number of waterbenders on board.

As the ship docked and lowered its ramp Lu Kai stood motionless waiting for the ambassador. When someone who looked like he could be it walked down the plank head held high Lu Kai moved forward to greet him. He bowed to the Water Tribe man in the Fire Nation style. The man, who looked to be in his late twenties with the characteristic dark skin and bright blue eyes of his people, bowed back.

"Welcome!" Lu Kai said, "I am Prince Lu Kai and I am here to help guide you to your quarters."

"Thank you Prince Lu Kai. My name is Kanak." he answered.

As he spoke Lu Kai couldn't help notice over Kanak's shoulder a teenage girl stalking down the ramp. She seemed too young to be his wife but far too old to be his daughter. Lu Kai was aware that the ambassador was married with two young children and that he was bringing his family with him. He hoped he hadn't been given misinformation for he had already made preparations for their stay on the information given to him. It would be so humiliating if he had messed up.

"I have bought carriages to take us to your residence." he said turning away slightly to gesture to the carriages. "Leave your luggage here. It will be…" he was interrupted by a girl's voice.

"KANAK!" It was the girl Lu Kai had noticed getting off the ship. "How dare you leave Hikisa to take care of the twins alone! Those little monsters of yours have completely wrecked my cabin! All my notes are now covered with multi colored little hand prints! How am I ever going to…"

The girl ranted on and on. Kanak seemed to be waiting for her to run out of steam. As he also waited for the girl to stop shouting Lu Kai noticed more people descending from the ship including a young woman carrying a pair of toddlers. They all acted as if a young girl shouting at a man double her age was completely normal. More than likely she was his sister if her scolding him was such an ordinary occurrence. He studied her appearance discreetly. He might be a prince but he was also a teenage boy.

Her skin was a shade lighter than that of the man next to her, her dark hair was held back from her face by a pair of turtle-seal shell combs and fell down her back in loose wild waves. She showed no physical similarity to Kanak though that didn't prove anything. In fact she looked a lot like… but she couldn't be. He shook the thought out of his head.

Lu Kai hoped they would be finished soon; he really didn't want to stand under the Sun any longer than necessary. Finally the woman stepped forward; giving one of her children to Kanak, she placed a hand on the girls shoulder and whispered a few words in her ear. The girl seemed to calm down taking a couple of deep breaths and almost visibly counting to ten.

Kanak turned to Lu Kai as if he hadn't just been publically berated by a teenage girl. "Your Highness, please forgive that interruption and let me introduce you to my family. This is my wife Hikisa," he gestured to the young woman, "and these are our children Nilak and Neela. This" he said gesturing towards the girl standing on his other side who obediently stepped forward, "is my niece, Keilla."

Lu Kai froze.

He was going to kill Maiko. He remembered how his sister had come to him that morning and begged him to take her place in greeting the Water Tribe ambassador. She had a mountain of work, their mother would kill her if it wasn't done by night, can he please just do this little, time consuming chore and she would be in his debt forever. He should have known. She would never beg. She was more than capable of tricking him into doing her work when it was required. She had set up the entire thing so that he would end up looking like a fool. He was going to _kill_ her.

He could still hear Kanak finish the introductions announcing his name and title to those present. He watched as she recognized him, her eyes practically popping out of their sockets, a blush spreading across her dusky cheeks. She had changed so much, last time he had seen her she was but a child, hair up in braids, running around like a heathen, rolling in the snow and mud, forever up to mischief. Now she seemed more like a woman full of righteous indignation one moment and shy and demure the next. But the eyes were the same, bright silvery grey sparkling with surprise and joy and excitement and innocence and apprehension and shyness. He could see the world in her eyes even now.

He didn't notice the awkward silence that had fallen nor that he was staring until Kanak cleared his throat and said "I take it you two have met each other before or are we actually witnessing a case of love at first sight?"

Instantly he was whacked across the back of his head with a water whip. "Keilla." Hikisa said disapprovingly.

"Sorry," she said ducking her head for a moment. Then she looked up again smiling. "Hi!" she said brightly tucking her hair behind her ear, "So, um… I guess you still remember me."

"Er… yeah, but um… why don't we move inside now. We can catch up later." He turned away trying to compose himself though after that display he could probably kiss his dignity good bye. He was really going to kill Maiko.

"So as I was saying you can leave your luggage here. The guards will bring it with them. Why don't you get into the carriage? There is enough room for all of us to go in one. I can show you the way to your residence. I am sure you want to set up your home to your tastes." He addressed the last comment to Hikisa and he meant it sincerely. He wanted to ensure they have a comfortable time in his nation however he also wanted to get out of there as fast as possible for multiple reasons the heat being the least of them.

He was really going to kill Maiko."


	2. Keilla

**Keilla**

"So." Kanak said.

Keilla flinched. She knew what was coming and was not looking forward to it. Thankfully Lu Kai had left already, promising to send a palanquin for her the next day. She noticed he hadn't offered to return and escort her himself but she couldn't blame him for figuratively running for the hills. Her meeting with Lu Kai had been going to be awkward enough without him witnessing her berating the new ambassador on his child rearing skills. He probably thought she was a raving lunatic by now. All hopes she had of perhaps becoming friends with him were now in ashes.

"So," Kanak said again, "are you going to explain or do I need to interrogate?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Keilla answered calmly continuing to chop vegetables.

"Interrogation it is." Kanak went on either not noticing or not caring about the glint in Keilla's eyes or the knife in her hand.

"Alright Healer Keilla of the Northern Water Tribe, what exactly is your relationship to Prince Lu Kai of the Fire Nation?"

For a moment Keilla simply looked at him as if unable to believe her ears, next second Kanak found himself surrounded by hundreds of tiny ice needles all pointing at him.

"Alright Ambassador Kanak of the Northern Water Tribe," Keilla hissed, her arms raised to water bend "how exactly is my relationship with Prince Lu Kai of the Fire Nation your business?" At that moment Hikisa walked in after having put the twins to bed.

"What have I said about bending in the kitchen?" Hikisa exclaimed as she sent a water whip knocking out most of the icicles. Keilla quickly regained control of the water and send it all back to the sink. Hikisa put her water back into her pouch.

"That it's only to be used for dishes." Keilla answered her question.

"Exactly." Hikisa nodded before gesturing towards her husband, "So what did he do?"

"Why do you assume it's my fault? I'm just a helpless victim." Kanak said. The women didn't even glance at him.

"He was trying to interrogate me about Prince Lu Kai."

"Oh yeah," Hikisa said as she put a pot on the hearth fire, "I meant to ask you about that."

"Hikisa." Keilla whined.

"I'm just curious. Have you met him before?"

"Yeah," Keilla sighed. There was no way out of this conversation now. "Some years ago Prince Lu Ten and Lord Katoh came to visit Mama. It wasn't an official visit or anything so they came with few guards. Maiko as the direct heir wasn't allowed anywhere without a huge entourage and Iroh had just started bending. It was too risky for him to come to the Poles before he had learned to control his flame better so only Lu Kai accompanied them. It was a short visit meant to last only three weeks. During those three weeks I might, _might_ have had a tiny little crush on Prince Lu Ten."

"Oh, wow."

"Yeah, he could be your father."

"I was only seven! And he was warm."

"So what, none of us are warm?"

"You know what I mean. He's a firebender and they are incredibly useful when it's snowing."

"Isn't the Prince a bender as well?" Hikisa asked.

"Yeah of course. But he was still pretty young. He hadn't quite got to the point where he could regulate his temperature the way Prince Lu Ten did. But we became pretty good friends both of us following the prince around like we did. It was hard to get him to talk, he was rather shy but I loved having someone who listened without complaint so it didn't matter all that much. When they left I was rather sad to see them go."

"If you were seven then it would be about seven years since then right? No wonder you didn't recognize each other at the docks." said Hikisa.

"Yep, but he definitely knows you, I mean did you see his face when I told him your name." Kanak guffawed.

"It probably looked a lot like my face did," Keilla said, "and it's been four years actually. I got a chance to meet the entire family at the Earth King's wedding except for the old Fire Lord. That's how I met the others: Lady Izumi, Maiko and Iroh. I also did something even more embarrassing than crushing on Lu Kai's uncle."

"What did you do?" asked Kanak, a grin already on his face.

"It was the first time I went to such an extravagant wedding. My idiotic older brother thought it would be funny to tell a romantic ten year old that in order to have an equally magnificent wedding she would have to marry into royalty."

"Oh boy."

"Exactly, Aunt Lin had explained to me all the things that go into a marriage including getting engaged. And to get engaged one had to propose first and give a ring to the proposee."

"Ring?" Hikisa interjected.

"Apparently that's how it's done in the Earth Kingdom. The couple exchange rings. So just before they left I proposed to Lu Kai. I chose him because he was the easiest to get along with, out of all the kids of Earth and Fire royalty that I had met that week. I also wanted a firebender. I even did the customary kneeling on one knee as I asked him to marry me and come with me to the South Pole."

"They actually do all that in the Earth Kingdom?" Kanak asked.

"Oh yeah though it's usually the men who do the kneeling and asking."

"Did he agree?" Hikisa asked eagerly.

"He accepted the ring but explained that we were too young for all that marriage stuff. We had to be adults to have a wedding and since neither of us wanted to be adults at that stage we shook hands and made a deal to get back to each other when we were done being kids."

"You shook hands." Kanak was laughing so hard he was in danger of falling off his stool.

"Where did you get a ring to give to him? You didn't just make one from ice did you?" Hikisa asked curiously.

"No way," Keilla said, "I gave him the one Grandfather had given me."

Kanak and Hikisa exchanged puzzled glances. "Which one's that?" asked Hikisa.

"When I was born my grandfather made me a ring made of three different metals: gold, silver and black meteorite. The three metals are intertwined. He gave Pihu something similar when he was born. Only his is an amulet and the three metals are welded together. I think he must have metal bended them. Mine was too big for me so I always wore it around my neck. That's probably what Luke did with it as well. It was big for him too."

"Luke?" Kanak asked with an eyebrow raised.

"That's what I called him."

"I get that you're childhood friends and everything but could you not call him nicknames, at least in public? The Fire Nation is a very rumour mongering nation and there is no knowing what people will think of your calling their prince 'Luke'. I promised your father to watch out for you while you're here and I'd hate if something were to happen to your reputation because of something so silly."

"Oh don't worry Kanak. I can handle myself and your promise will be still unbroken when I leave." Keilla smiled sunnily at her guardian, "Anyway it's not like he'll have anything to do with me now. After the embarrassment of our last meeting added to the embarrassment of this meeting I'll be surprised if he ever shows his face to me again."


	3. Zuko

**Zuko**

Zuko couldn't help but groan as he pushed himself up off his extravagant bed. He still stayed in the Fire Lord's suite though he had stopped being a Fire Lord for a full year now but Izumi wouldn't hear of taking the rooms herself so these rooms remained his. He walked into the main portion of his suite. Pulling all the necessities for tea out he placed them on his table before heading to the office for the jug of water always kept there. As he was about to turn back to the main room he caught sight of movement in the courtyard below. He paused and then moved closer to the window.

His breath caught as he saw a young woman bending the water in the pond her silhouette clearly formed by the bright light of the full moon. He couldn't help but remember the last time he had seen a waterbender bend in that very pond by the light of the full moon. He shook his head free of that memory.

He walked down to the courtyard greeted by the night guards at every turn. He arrived in time to see her pull some water up above her in the form of hundreds of tiny droplets and then she let it go. They fell upon her like rain and she spun under the deluge giggling in delight.

"If you like rain so much you'll be happy to know that the rainy season is only two months away." Zuko said amused at her display.

Instantly she spun startled and then relaxed on seeing him. "Oh it's you Lord Zuko. I didn't cause you to wake up did I?"

Zuko shook his head. "I couldn't sleep. I was just about to make some tea. Would you like to join me? I happen to know chamomile always helps on restless nights."

"Sure." she said brightly. She pulled the water from her clothes which were a bright blue and indigo coloured version of ordinary Fire Nation robes. Her hair was free from its usual turtle-seal shell combs and she wore none of the gold ornaments Maiko usually pushed her into wearing. In the moonlight she almost looked like a water sprite as she played with the water for a moment before tossing it back into the pond.

"Let's go." Zuko said walking back the same way he had just come hearing the quick patter of her footsteps behind him.

When they entered he gestured toward the table where he had kept the tea things. As she sat down he went about creating the perfect brew.

"Why couldn't you sleep?" she asked.

He smiled at her as he heated the pot just right. "Old age is creeping up on me I suppose. It has become more and more often for me to spend half the night with tea and memories."

She smiled back at him. "I suppose it's hard to be sleeping alone too. Gran Gran says that sometimes."

Zuko's hand faltered for a moment as he poured the tea into cups. But his face was blank as he held her cup out to her. "Ah but she is a waterbender. Night is her time like it is for you."

"Yes," she admitted "but sometimes we could really use a full night's sleep. I have a busy day tomorrow and it will be a nightmare if I'm sleep deprived."

"I am sure it will be alright. You are a hard worker and a good healer. The hospital is grateful you decided to intern with them here instead of going to Ba Sing Se university to study."

"Yeah well," she smiled looking out the open door to the balcony and the scenery spreading from there, "I had heard so many stories I just had to come here you know. The internship was like icing on the pastry."

"I suppose these are the stories you heard from my grandchildren through your correspondence?" Zuko questioned.

"Technically I had written two letters so I don't know if you can call it correspondence and I'd only written to Maiko." she stated.

"But you will write to all of us when you leave won't you?"

"Yeah," she said softly "but that won't be for at least another year. I don't really want to think about leaving though. Not right now. I know," she turned to him with an excited grin, "why don't you tell me a story."

"A story?" he asked honestly surprised.

"Yeah that's what Gran Gran used to do on full moon nights. It was her stories I was talking about."

There was a soft expression in Zuko's eyes as he asked "She talks about the Fire Nation?"

"Oh yeah," she said finishing her cup. He promptly refilled it. "That's why I had to come here. To know if it was as beautiful and as wonderful as she claimed."

"Oh." was all he said his eyes moving to the cup in his hands.

"Plus after Prince Lu Ten and Luke visited I really wanted to see the homeland of firebenders. I imagined it to be very exotic."

"And is it?" he asked smiling at her.

"Almost." she replied, her smile fading a little as she said "Nothing is ever as one imagines it to be. Any way," she quickly let go of her melancholia, her smile brilliant once more as she turned back to him, "Don't change the subject. Tell me a story."

"What kind of story do you want to hear?" he inquired.

"Tell me the story of the Necklace." she stated.

"The Necklace?" he asked confused.

She nodded at his hand placed on the table. He looked down but he already knew what she meant. His sleep-tunic was sleeveless and so the dark blue strap contrasting sharply against the translucent skin of his wrist was impossible to miss, particularly when the pendant caught the moonlight.

He looked up at her. Her silver eyes shone above the rim of her cup. They were asking him "Did you really think I wouldn't notice, I wouldn't ask?"

He looked down again fingering the pendant, running his thumb over the carving he had touched so often he had the imprint memorized. Suddenly her hand appeared, her fingers brushing against the stone and pushing his hand away.

"It's Gran Gran's isn't it?

He nodded studying the contrast between his pale, wrinkled skin and her dark, smooth one. Keilla's skin was fairer than her grandmothers probably due to her grandfather. His fingers closed over her palm. Her hand was so small, like a child's. Essentially she was a child, younger than his own grandchildren. Yet when he looked at her, her bright eyes inquisitive, her smile understanding he knew she wasn't a child. She had the Avatar's blood in her veins. She was Katara's granddaughter, had grown up listening to Katara's stories. She wasn't a child.

"Tell me." she whispered.

So he did. He told her how he had first found it, how he had first used it for selfish gains, how it had been taken from him, how he had learned its significance and history. He even told her how it had ended up with him; how when he had left Republic City after it Inaugural Ceremony he had found the necklace on his desk along with a letter from its owner. He did not tell her why Katara had gifted it to him but the way Keilla looked at him so knowingly, in spite of her sleep heavy eyelids, led him to believe she at least had inkling.

By the time he finished she was curled up in her chair desperately trying to keep her eyes open. He chuckled and then helped her up and led her to his bedroom. He told her to sleep on his bed, she protested but was too sleepy to really argue. She needed at least a few hours of sleep if she wanted to have anything done the next day and he wasn't going to be using the bed that night. He tucked her in the way he once used to tuck Izumi and Lu Ten into bed. As he turned away to put out the lights he heard her whisper.

"Thank you GranDad."

He spun back around shocked. "What did you call me?" he questioned the girl.

She frowned. "Is it wrong to call you that? If you don't like it…"

He shook his head. "I have no problem with you calling me that. In fact I would be honoured."

She smiled sleepily back at him even as she snuggled deeper into the sheets. "Good night GranDad."

"Good night little waterbender." he murmured as he swept his hands and put out all the candles in the room. As he walked out he couldn't stop smiling.


	4. Katoh

Katoh

Katoh had always loved the rain. It would probably be considered an unusual trait in a Fire Nation noble man but ever since he had been a child he had loved the smell of the first rain, the sound of it on the roof, watching it fall across the ground. His sons shared his fascination though his daughter couldn't care less. They all disliked getting wet though being firebenders.

Therefore he stood on one of the balconies overlooking an inner courtyard as the first rains swept in. He had been on his way to see his wife but had had to stop and watch when the storm began. He continued to watch silently even after his father-in-law joined him. He knew Lord Zuko also enjoyed watching the rain though he had long suspected it was not because of a fascination similar to his own. Something deeper haunted the older man but Katoh respected his former ruler both as a leader and as a man to dig too deeply in that particular hole and bring to light things better left in darkness.

He watched as a young teenage girl dressed in blue and gold ran into the courtyard becoming completely drenched in a matter of seconds. He couldn't help but smile as he watched her stand stock still in the centre of the courtyard, arms outstretched, face to the skies. No matter how the rains fascinated them only a waterbender could truly enjoy them. Which begged the question why it never rained at the poles, only snowed. Katoh shook his head at the strange ways of nature.

He continued to watch as Keilla began to dance in the rain occasionally bending as well. Suddenly he saw his elder son on the other side sheltered beneath the eaves.

"Keilla, what in Agni's name are you doing?" his question could be heard clearly by the men on the balcony despite the heavy rain.

"What does it look like? I'm dancing." she replied not ceasing her graceful movements.

"You'll get sick you know." he threatened.

"I'm a healer, I can't get sick." she answered back.

Mumbling something under his breath that even Keilla probably didn't hear he turned away. "Fine." he said, "You waste time acting like an idiot if you want. I'll be in the library."

Keilla stopped dancing. Spinning around to face his retreating figure she called after him "Wait. Don't go. Join me Luke."

"Excuse me?" he asked incredulously.

"C'mon Luke." She stretched a hand out to him beckoning him, "Come and dance with me."

"Are you kidding me? Why would I want to get wet?"

A moment later he was drenched. She had thrown a sizable water ball at him and he hadn't seen it coming. "Since your wet anyway," she said, "you might as well enjoy the rain properly now." Though he couldn't see her face Katoh would bet she was smiling at Lu Kai innocently. The same smile she had worn when as a child her mother had questioned her about the flooding in the engine of the ship that was to carry him, his son and his brother-in-law back to their home. The ship they would have boarded that afternoon if it were not for the little waterbenders mischief. They were forced to spend an extra week at the pole because of her trick.

"C'mon, it'll be fun. The books will still be there when we return." she practically pleaded.

There was no way Lu Kai would agree to going out in the rain because he thought it would be fun. If he agreed it would be only for her sake. Katoh couldn't help but wonder what he would decide. While it was plain Maiko saw Keilla as a combination of girl friend and little sister and Iroh's little crush on Keilla was clear to all of them except for the waterbender herself, Lu Kai's feelings regarding their guest was harder to decipher. He was always avoiding her. When circumstances forced him to interact with her he did so with a mixture of irritation and exasperation. However he also went out of his way to find books and sources on subjects she mentioned in passing. Katoh had also noticed how he would occasionally mention things that Keilla needed in casual conversation with his siblings. Currently he was spending his spare time in the library trying to help her find research related to memory loss. His actions might just be caused by his natural shyness and genuine kindheartedness. Or it could also be that due to their history he is unsure of how to deal with her but still feels a certain responsibility for her. In truth Katoh doesn't know. Sometimes he found himself wishing his elder son was more like his siblings and was more open to him.

Lu Kai continued to stand under the eaves, dripping wet. Keilla seemed to grow impatient and ran inside to him.

"Come _on_ Luke." she said as she grabbed his arm and led him into the open courtyard. He allowed her to drag him outside, offering no resistance.

"You're really lucky I can't say no to you." he growled with no real anger.

"I know." she grinned.

She took his hand and began twirling pulling him with her. Soon enough he was laughing as well at their absurd display, spinning and swaying with no real order to their movements. But there was beauty as the two men on the balcony could attest to. There was a beauty to their effortless, thoughtless rhythm, their infectious joy.

Then suddenly their laughter was interrupted by a sneeze.

"Ha! I told you you'd get sick." Lu Kai was triumphant.

"I'm not sick. It's probably something that irritated my nose." Keilla answered rubbing the back of her hand over her nose.

"Yeah right. C'mon let's get you dried off and warm or you'll catch a cold." he said as he took her wrist and led her inside.

"I'm telling you Luke," she interrupted herself with a sneeze, "I'm a healer. Healers don't get sick."

His retort was lost as they disappeared inside.

"Well that was interesting." Katoh jumped as his wife's voice broke the rain filled silence left behind by the two teenagers. He hadn't noticed when she had joined them though judging from Lord Zuko's lack of reaction he had been aware of her presence. "I have never seen Lu Kai act so care free. But then he was always fascinated with the rain. Do you remember that time when he was sick as a baby and he wouldn't stop crying? You had the idea Father, to take him out on the balcony while it rained. Somehow listening to the rain was what was needed to lull him to sleep."

"Yes I remember. However, I believe that display was due to his fascination with a girl rather than the rain." Lord Zuko said his tone plain even while a smile played on his lips.

"Is that so?" Izumi asked her face devoid of expressions though her eyes sparkled. Katoh knew her well enough to tell that she was pleased. She too was fond of the waterbender. "In that case we have to find a way to keep her here."

"I think that is a task best left to Lu Kai sweetheart. I am sure he can manage that much on his own" Katoh was amused at his wife's matchmaking tendencies. After all she had been the one to originally send Maiko as her representative to Ren's holiday home. However he was the only one to remember her hand in their daughter's romance.

"Ah well. I am just happy to see him out of that dusty library for one afternoon." Izumi sighed as she handed cups of tea to her husband and father.


	5. Pihuka

Pihuka

Pihuka couldn't remember the number of shops they had entered nor the number of dresses his sister had tried on but he decided he was beyond caring. If they didn't finish soon he would just drag Keilla to the ball in whatever she was wearing at that point be it her underwear.

"It's beautiful Keilla." Hikisa said.

"Yes," Princess Maiko agreed "the colour is perfect and the cut suits you to a T."

"You think so?" Keilla questioned spinning in front of the full length mirror. "What do you think Pihu? Is this it?"

"It's wonderful Keilla." he replied completely honest if annoyed at his little sister. "Now let's buy the dress and get out of here."

"Are you sure?" Keilla said, "Maybe we should look around a little longer."

"Oh for La's sake would you just choose a dress already. It's not like anyone would recognize you after all." Pihuka cried.

All three ladies looked at him with the patented female 'you are an idiot but what else can be expected from a guy' look.

"Let's go to one last shop." Keilla said ignoring her brother's words, "I am still not completely satisfied."

"I know a store run by a water tribe woman." said Hikisa, "She doesn't have costumes but you should take a look at her dress selection. She has some lovely water tribe designs."

"Alright." the Princess agreed, "We might as well check it out."

"Okay, let's go." Keilla said as she stepped out of the changing rooms in her own clothes.

The shop Hikisa led them to was a small corner store filled to the brim with different shades of blue and even a few purple clothes and fabrics. The middle aged woman who owned the shop pulled out dress after dress but none of them impressed Keilla. Pihuka got sick of her dithering and began to look around despite the limited space. That was how he came upon a familiar design.

"Keilla." he held the white dress up before his sister, "Recognize this?"

She frowned thoughtfully. "It looks a bit like Mama's wedding dress." She tilted her head to one side as she continued "Only white and silver instead of purple and yellow."

"Exactly. Remember what Gran Gran said about the wedding dress? Where she got the idea for the design?"

"She said she had based it on Yue's robes." Keilla said slowly and then she gasped. "Yue!"

"It's perfect don't you think. All you need to do is dye your hair white."

"There is no way I'm colouring my hair white!"

"Wait a minute," the Princess interjected, "why would you need to bleach your hair? What are you both spouting?"

"It's a legend in our tribe your highness," Hikisa explained, "Yue was a Princess of our tribe. She took the place of the Moon spirit during the Seige of the North. She was said to have had snow white hair as a testament to Tui having blessed her with life as a baby. And when Tui was destroyed Yue gave her life to become the next Moon spirit."

"So you want to go as the Moon?" the Princess asked turning to Keilla. She nodded eagerly.

"Well I'm sure I can get a white wig made by tomorrow night but you'll need other accessories including a mask."

"You can make a mask yourself. It will be easier to match that way. I'll help you with that, if you want." said Hikisa.

"Alright. So everything is set." Keilla said. "Now all we have to do is get a costume for Pihu."

"What?" exclaimed Pihuko.

"Well you're going to be accompanying me and so you have to match the theme." Keilla stated bluntly.

"Theme? You didn't say anything about a theme or about me dressing up either." he sputtered.

"You would know if you paid attention to me when I'm talking to you. If you're coming with me you will have to wear a costume otherwise I will go with someone else."

Sometimes he really hated his little sister. "Okay, what's the theme?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"Opposites." the princess seemed to be enjoying his torment.

"Opposites?"

"Yeah you're going to be the Ocean spirit. That way we can represent the tribes and fit in with the theme. It's perfect."

"Yeah," Pihuka muttered bitterly, "perfect."

Hikisa asked the proprietor for men's clothing in dark blue while his sister and Princess Maiko went burrowing amongst the pile of water tribe jewelry.

Pihuka sighed and settled in for the torture ahead.


End file.
